Making a cup of coffee in the most complicated way possible.

Mermaid with an affinity for fire magic.

Well… the CIA’s job is to make messes.

The portal was invented, to discover. (Sci-fi portal)

Thanks I know I could do better

I meant to steal you

To break a window plane for you

To rob a house for you

​

Lez Miz inspired.

Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.

Reminders:

>* No AI-generated reponses 🤖 >* Stories 100 words+. Poems 30+ but include "[Poem]" >* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail >* [RF] and [SP] for stricter titles >* Be civil in any feedback and follow the rules

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Finally, you produced some consistent sentences.

That's progress. LOL

Test passed: Accuse target as non White based on bad English.

My apologies: I had to apply some standard Reddit filters.

Fuck that guy.

This has SCP vibes

Mystics are the norm in this world.

Every so often a fantastical threat descends upon the world, and a band of heroes rise up against it. Every time the heroes would win, but usually at some "Cost". Be it one of the heroes dying or losing a limb, or the threat manages to deal some such sufficient damage. Either way, it literally always plays the same, and over the years, people realized that it was completely invariable... except for the "cost" part.

Around 1850, Gurrug Molank ended up paying the smallest cost in history. After defeating his threat, all that was costed was his pinky toe. From this point on people started to realize that these costs could actually be minimized depending on the person. And so the Mystic Association of Gurrug International Congregations (or MAGIC) was founded in order to seek out heroes who were calculated to have the lowest dollar rate costs per threat.

Now obviously this sounds impossible. How do you calculate who has the lowest costs? Well there are a number of factors, such as physical stamina, mental skills, and magical prowess, and to be fair the program didn't actually help much until 1972, when Kullull Malgoon discovered a mystic artifact that could detect, and measure peoples "Attunements".

I won't get into it, but basically "Attunements" are a person's level of magic in any particular field. Turns out there's a direct correlation between a person's attunement, and the cost of defeating a threat. If a persons attunement to a particular field is higher, and the attunement of the threat is weak against that persons field, then their costs will be minimized. (Think of it like a level 100 charizard having an advantage over a level 1 Bulbasaur.)

From that point on, world governments replicated that artifact, and have found the optimal candidate for these threats every time. The costs are practically non-existent anymore, and the heroes always end up succeeding with minimal hardship.

The problem is now that it's a beurocracy, there are lots of new "Problems" that arise with selecting a candidate. For instance, a lot of big-name brands like to put the face of the latest hero on their products. Well for that the hero needs to give the rights to their likeness. Turns out a lot of heroes aren't business savvy, and end up getting screwed over. So MAGIC started assigning them lawyers. Then turns out being one of these laywers is a pretty lucrative position, so there's a lot of competition to be one. Well then they needed a refined vetting process for the laywers. What about the hero themself? they need their expenses handled while they're off saving the world. So a new fund was set up to help the heroes with expenses. This means higher taxes for countries that pay into MAGIC. Then some countries may not want to pay into MAGIC, so they don't get protected by it anymore.

And now you see why it's an issue. MAGIC is at the center of a huge political debate pretty much all the time. Some arguing that the heroes should just be sent off to fight with no compensation since they're already predestined to win. Others saying it isn't right to force someone to be a hero without compensation, comparing it to slave labour. Some arguing the heroes should be left to their own affairs after and not given legal help. Others saying it isn't fair to be a public figure without knowing what it means for them.

Yet by far the biggest issue always ends up coming to the heroes themselves. All this political and social pressure gets to their heads, and while they may not end up with a "cost" for the threat, they absolutely get one for simply being a hero in the first place.

There are groups that either hate or love the heroes. If you thought being a celebrity was bad, being hero is a hundred times worse. Your face gets plastered worldwide as the saviour of humanity. While you're getting all those cheers from fans, it will often twist your ego, making you accustomed to the love. But when the next threat comes around, and you're no longer the center of attention, the cheers abruptly stop, and with the lack of cheers, there's nothing to drown out the hate.

Hate groups are merciless, and will dig into every single wrongdoing of any given hero, even years after their time as a hero is up. They'll insult, threten, and even outright attack previous heroes simply because they hate the way they look, or talk, or even as a byproduct of hating MAGIC. Some extremists will even go so far as to try and kill the hero they hate. But even if those extremists fail, the post-hero depression might do it.

13.1% of heroes end up dying from suicide and 12.7% die of "Unintentional Injuries" (which everyone knows usually means overdosing). The insane pressure of being a hero, and having hate groups associated with you is more than enough to get the better of someone. Sure there's been political pressure to do something about it, but most governments are no longer concerned with heroes after they've done the hero work.

So now after explaining all this, I'm sure you'll understand why I will NOT let my daughter work for MAGIC, a MAGIC girl if you will. I don't care if her attunement is abnormally high, or if there's a college fund or anything. I will fight to make sure she isn't put into that position, and so that she doesn't need to suffer the true "Cost" of being a hero.

Fresh bread

Brian's eyes opened to a stream of incessant beeping. Steady...piercing... obnoxious. Refreshing, somehow? He squinted as his eyes aches, burned with white brilliance. It came from the square on the wall. He knew there was a concept for that, but what it was escaped him.

He was lying in something soft. Crinkly. Warm. What?

Oh...those things they pulled up onto him.

They?

The people who passed by sometimes to sit with him. Family? They were called family! But where had he heard the word?

"Oh, good," said the dancing wisps of smoke twirling over his feet.

He stared through half-slitted eyes. Smoke didn't talk, right? He thought? He opened his mouth to ask who had spoken, but only a dry croak came out.

"Nope, no can do," the smoke replied. The way tiny lights flitted back and forth inside it as the sound rang out, it had to be the smoke. Slowly, he rolled his head to the side, and it felt like climbing a mountain. He winced and heaved a sigh.

"Window," he murmured. "Bright." Window! Another correct concept! But how? Who had told him what a window was? Why didn't he remember?

"Beautiful, ain't it?" The wisps swept over him and formed the outline of a tiny flying boy over his chest. A...fairy. "Congratulations!"

Brian stared. Congratulations? For what? He couldn't remember...but when he tried to push himself up, he saw his weak, ashen arms rise out from the blanket and flop again. His shoulders ached from the slightest motion.

"You didn't ask for physical ability," the boy said with a wag of his finger.

"Ask...?"

"You've been here since you were a little baby. This is the first time you've been with it enough to talk to me."

Brian coughed faintly and glanced at the stack of machines next to him. Ugh, if the beeping would just stop. He fumbled with the tubes running from his arms.

"I'd suggest not touching those," the fairy chuckled. "But wow, you didn't even remember me. I finally found a dream coherent enough to show up for you."

"Call..."

"Can't. Only you can hear me. But you wanted to wake up with the knowledge of someone your age, so here you are! You'll remember slowly, but the basics should be coming in now."

Wake up? He stared around the stark white room. Wake up...?

"Whoops, almost six. She'll be here soon. Gotta fly! Congrats, you're the oldest guy I've ever granted for!"

He was gone in a soft puff, and Brian stared through the empty air where he once was. Just as he closed his eyes again, rooting through his mind for more words, the door opened.

The nurse dropped her clipboard.

An intense battle in the sky, as the rumbling of propellers and the flap of wings come head-to-head.

(Poem) Last twilight

Oh silver Twilight of the Moon How I wish I could see your beautiful light one final time As I lay here in the dark,a soft glow around,I hear people mother says maybe I'll pull through but the blood doth flow. Father says stay strong and their is still a chance.

But tonight I saw him ever closer ,the man in gold.

He wears a smile as gold and pure as light. I see him but my parents don't. He seems friendly. As I sit each night ,the man in gold approaches. He wears wings of gold and holds a book out to me.

The toll of the church bell doesn't bring me comfort,the doctor says their isn't much time. 4 days,8 days,12 days,my condition gets worse. But oh Lady twilight each night the man in gold ,gets closer and closer. Last night I saw my dog Rex who I haven't seen in years,he licked me,and sat at my side. I didn't understand it,but Rex is still here. 2 days later ,at the sound of the midnight bell tolls ,My cat lex came and sat at my side. I pet him and Rex,for the first time in a while,I cried and just sat their with them all night. Not fear or tears... Just calmness.

At the toll of the bell tonight,the man approaches me, looking at me softly reaching out a hand and gently touched my cheek. He looks at me with sad eyes. "It's time Liam,come home with me. To a world where your suffering is over. And you can sit with your pets and your family who missed you.."

I look at the man,not with fear but with a small smile and a brave face. "Will I be free of pain and suffering,will mom and dad not have to watch me suffer anymore?"

The man in gold ,with his eyes a small heart as he takes my hand. "No Liam,no more fear,no more pain. Your mommy and daddy won't have to worry anymore. Your coming home." Liam smiles for the first time in a long time"who are you Mr?" The grim reaper looks at him walking to the fields of freedom and looks at him "My name ... It's been so long and I go by so many. But you can call me whatever you wish." Liam smiles softly "I'm going to call you my friend Goldy." The grim reaper smiles as Liam's Grandma takes his hand "Alright then Liam,I am Goldy,and you are my friend. I'll never forget you".

Audio lips seeking silly slipped ships

I like it!

Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.

Reminders:

>* No AI-generated reponses 🤖 >* Stories 100 words+. Poems 30+ but include "[Poem]" >* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail >* [RF] and [SP] for stricter titles >* Be civil in any feedback and follow the rules

🆕 New Here? ✏ Writing Help? 📢 News 💬 Discord

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

Small children enter a classroom for the first time

Their eyes lighting up like the world at daybreak.

A year beginning.

Little stars ready to shine.

A universe of learning waiting for them

A room revolving around them

​

Young adults leave a classroom for the last time

Their eyes watering

A era ending

Stars in there own right

A new side of the world to light up

I'd watch this series before I went for another SAO knock off. I'm sick of "I got sucked into my video game/rpg and now I'm stuck here". I remember the first time we did that dance, it was called "Dungeons and Dragons: The Animated Series".

Edit: if you want to be specific, we did it before that with the Neverending Story

[deleted]

>I'd pick anyone else. I'd take you over her."

Okay, now I kinda want a story where the father does take over being a magical girl to save his daughter from it.

>"Apparently I get really bored when you're not around." Victoria shrugged. "Besides, if I annoy you too much, maybe you'll get better faster to get me away from you."

And we have a winner for cutest selfishness ever.

Yeah that's why I thought, maybe Pommie

I suppose it has been a year, so many people might not know about it.

However giving credit would not hurt.